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Arabic

Welcome to the Monterey Institute's Summer Intensive Arabic Program! Over the course of 8 weeks, the program offers 180 hours of intensive elementary, intermediate and advanced language and culture instruction, giving students an opportunity to jump-start their Arabic studies or reach a more advanced level of study.

In addition to intensive in-class instruction led by native or near native Arabic speakers with extensive experience in teaching, the program also gives students access to teaching assistants who provide tutoring and additional opportunities for language practice. The program also provides language and cultural activities outside of class hours.

Course Descriptions

Elementary Arabic
The elementary level of Arabic is designed for students with no or minimal knowledge of Modern Standard Arabic. The elementary level begins with an introduction to the sounds and script of the language using the text Alif-Baa. Following the introduction to sounds and script, the course uses Al-Kitaab Part One as its major textbook. Students will be exposed to authentic reading materials, learn to speak at the survival level, give oral presentations, and prepare short written assignments. Supplementary authentic materials from newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and television are provided to enhance both reading and listening skills.

The class is very intensive and students are expected to spend an additional 2-4 hours outside of class to acquire and understand the grammar, nuances, and thinking processes behind the language. During the summer session, classes are 4.5 hours a day, Monday through Friday. Classes begin at 9:00AM with a break for lunch at 12:00PM and then resume at 1:00PM, ending at 2:30PM. Students with knowledge of Arabic letters and sounds, but very limited exposure to the language, will have to take a placement test to determine their language proficiency.

Intermediate Arabic
The intermediate class is designed for students with at least one year of recent college level Arabic studies and a clear understanding of all the material covered in the first half of Al-Kitaab Part One. Students are required to take a placement test at the start of the program. Placement is determined by students' language proficiency level, not the length of their previous studies.

The class uses a communicative approach to engage students in the learning process. Students participate in interactive and functional activities such as dialogues, role plays, and presentations to practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Instruction is designed to improve students' overall ability to understand and use the language accurately and appropriately.  The second half of Al-Kitaab Part One will be used for the Intermediate class. The text is supplemented with DVDs and authentic materials from newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and television for listening and reading practice. The class is very intensive, and students are expected to spend an additional 2-4 hours outside the class to acquire and understand the grammar, nuances, and thinking processes behind the language. During the summer session, classes are 4.5 hours a day, Monday through Friday. Classes begin at 9:00AM with a break for lunch at 12:00PM and then resume at 1:00PM, ending at 2:30PM. 

Advanced Arabic
The advanced level Arabic course is a content-driven course with limited grammatical support. Upon enrollment at this level, students should be able to sustain an involved discussion of considerable length, talk about a variety of topics, and initiate, sustain and conclude a social interaction or a conversation involving a complex situation. Students will be engaged in extensive reading and listening activities based on authentic materials on topics such as politics, society, economics and culture, followed by discussions and written responses to the content.  Students in this class should be able to write using a limited but sufficient range of structures with general control over grammar, and should expect to spend an additional 2-4 hours per day outside class to complete homework assignments and prepare for the next day's class. During the summer session, classes are 4.5 hours a day, Monday through Friday, from 9:00-12:00 and 1:00-2:30.

Textbooks

Ordering Information:

  • There is NO BOOKSTORE ON-CAMPUS at the Monterey Institute.
  • ORDER EARLY!! The session is very short, and if you wait to purchase your books until the session begins, they may not arrive in time.
  • Unsure of your level? Use your score from the diagnostic test as a guide. Or, you may want to purchase both books and send one back after the session begins.

ELEMENTARY ARABIC

No knowledge or experience learning Arabic:
Alif Baa with DVDs (2nd edition); Georgetown University Press:  ISBN: 1-589-01102-3

Knowledge of Arabic letters and sounds and limited experience of Arabic:

Al-Kitaab fii Ta allum al-Arabiyya (with DVDs) Part one (2nd edition); Georgetown University Press, ISBN: 1-589-001104-x

Arabic-English Dictionary:  The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic; Spoken Language Services Inc, ISBN0-879-50003-4

INTERMEDIATE ARABIC:

Al-Kitaab fii Ta allum al-Arabiyya (with DVDs) Part One (2nd edition); Georgetown University Press, ISBN: 1-589-01104-x.

Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic;  Spoken Language Services Inc, ISBN:  0-879-50003-4.

ADVANCED ARABIC:

Al-Kitaab fii Ta allum al-Arabiyya (with DVDs) Part Two (2nd edition); Georgetown University Press, ISBN: 1-58901-096-5.

Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic; Spoken Language Services Inc, ISBN: 0-879-50003-4.

Contact Information

Rana Issa
Arabic Language Coordinator
Rana.Issa@miis.edu

 
Monterey Institute of International Studies, 460 Pierce Street, Monterey, CA 93940, Admissions: (831) 647-4123
©2008 Monterey Institute of International Studies. All rights reserved.
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